Nisa Investment Advisors LLC Cuts Stock Position in Mastercard Incorporated $MA

Nisa Investment Advisors LLC lessened its position in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 2.5% in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 281,766 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 7,241 shares during the period. Mastercard makes up about 0.7% of Nisa Investment Advisors LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 17th largest holding. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $158,336,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of MA. Kingstone Capital Partners Texas LLC acquired a new position in shares of Mastercard during the second quarter worth $11,421,213,000. Nuveen LLC purchased a new position in Mastercard during the 1st quarter worth $4,238,764,000. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its position in Mastercard by 38.6% during the 1st quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 13,526,118 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $7,413,936,000 after buying an additional 3,765,378 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its position in Mastercard by 3,493.6% during the 2nd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 934,110 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $524,914,000 after buying an additional 908,116 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its stake in Mastercard by 4.7% in the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 20,096,979 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $11,015,557,000 after buying an additional 907,184 shares during the last quarter. 97.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Mastercard Stock Performance

MA opened at $573.72 on Friday. Mastercard Incorporated has a 12-month low of $465.59 and a 12-month high of $601.77. The company has a current ratio of 1.16, a quick ratio of 1.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.41. The firm has a market capitalization of $518.65 billion, a PE ratio of 38.69, a P/E/G ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 0.97. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $579.51 and a two-hundred day moving average of $566.01.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 31st. The credit services provider reported $4.15 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.05 by $0.10. Mastercard had a net margin of 44.93% and a return on equity of 200.01%. The business had revenue of $8.13 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.95 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $3.50 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts anticipate that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 EPS for the current year.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 7th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 9th will be given a dividend of $0.76 per share. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 9th. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 20.50%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MA has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Wall Street Zen upgraded Mastercard from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, October 18th. Citigroup upgraded shares of Mastercard to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their target price on shares of Mastercard from $650.00 to $656.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Seaport Res Ptn raised shares of Mastercard from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 14th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Saturday. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have issued a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $638.96.

Insider Buying and Selling at Mastercard

In other news, CFO J. Mehra Sachin sold 17,816 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $586.89, for a total value of $10,456,032.24. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 31,234 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $18,330,922.26. The trade was a 36.32% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

Mastercard Profile

Mastercard Incorporated, a technology company, provides transaction processing and other payment-related products and services in the United States and internationally. The company offers integrated products and value-added services for account holders, merchants, financial institutions, digital partners, businesses, governments, and other organizations, such as programs that enable issuers to provide consumers with credits to defer payments; payment products and solutions that allow its customers to access funds in deposit and other accounts; prepaid programs services; and commercial credit, debit, and prepaid payment products and solutions.